SEPTEMBER 3, 1998
State prisoners completed the tire clean up operation along the Bogue Sound beaches today, picking up an estimated 20,000 tires that had been scattered by Hurricane Bonnie from Fort Macon to Emerald Isle.
"The clean up went rapidly and smoothly. It all worked well," said Duncan Daughtry, superintendent of the Carteret Correctional Center at Newport. "The prisoners worked diligently and everyone from Marine Fisheries, the towns and the residents were happy with the job they did."
At the direction of Gov. Jim Hunt, the Department of Correction moved 100 inmates from a Yanceyville prison to the Newport prison to help clean up the tires washed ashore by the hurricane. The tires were placed offshore in the early 1980s to create artificial reefs for fish.
The NC Division of Marine Fisheries organized the three-day tire clean up operation that moved the tires from the beaches to staging areas where they could be hauled off for disposal.
"We’re proud of the department’s response to Governor Hunt’s call to assist North Carolinians who suffered due to Hurricane Bonnie," said State Correction Secretary Mack Jarvis. "I’m proud of the hard work of our staff and the prisoners who have cleaned up beaches and communities helping our people get their lives back to normal."
More than 800 prisoners continued to work at hurricane clean up tasks today. Of the 81 squads working today, 60 were cleaning up debris and 21 were helping tobacco farmers.
The work teams helped communities clean up debris in Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Currituck, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender and Perquimans counties.
Prisoner work squads were helping farmers straighten tobacco stalks blown over by hurricane winds. The squads worked today in Beaufort, Brunswick, Dare, Cumberland, Johnston, New Hanover, Robeson, Tyrrell and Wayne counties.
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Mack
Jarvis
Secretary of Correction